Episode:Index
This is a list of episodes in the Neon Genesis Evangelion series. Airing history After several episodes were produced, the first episode aired on October 4, 1995, long after originally planned. Initially ignored (although received positively by those Gainax fans invited to early screenings), viewership grew slowly and largely by word of mouth. The 16th episode marked a distinct shift that would characterize the second half of Evangelion as being more psychological than action or adventure."Fans liked the concept, praising it for a psychoanalytical look at anime that had never been attempted before. Sato sees Episode 16 was of particular importance. A spherical black Angel called Ririeru (Leliel in English) appears and Shinji's Eva Unit-01 is absorbed into it. Normally, such close contact between an Evangelion and an Angel would have resulted in combat. Instead, in this episode, Shinji is confronted by another version of himself. The two Shinjis engage in conversation as the young boy probes "himself" about who he really is and the meaning of "self." The episode clearly shows how Shinji explores his inner self as he continues asking why it is that he has been selected to pilot the Eva. The series continues in this way with a strong focus on Shinji's internal struggles until Evangelion draws toward its climax." "Evangelion Special: From phenomenon to legacy" This change in emphasis was partly due to the development of the story, but also partly because by this point, production had begun running out of funding and failing to meet the schedule; this collapse has been identified by at least one Gainax employee as the impetus for Evangelion's turn into metafiction: I didn't mind it. The schedule was an utter disaster and the number of cels plummeted, so there were some places where unfortunately the quality suffered. However, the tension of the staff as we all became more desperate and frenzied certainly showed up in the film … About the time that the production system was completely falling apart, there were some opinions to the effect that, "If we can't do satisfactory work, then what's the point of continuing?" However, I didn't feel that way. My opinion was, "Why don't we show them the entire process including our breakdown.""A STORY OF COMMUNICATION: The Kazuya Tsurumaki Interview" But nevertheless, by the 18th episode, it had become enough of a sensation that Unit-01's violent rampage "is criticized as being unsuitable on an anime show that is viewed by children", and episode 20 would be similarly criticized for the offscreen depiction of Misato and Kaji having sex.pg 162, Fujie 2004 With this popularity came the first merchandise, "Genesis 0:1" (containing the first two episodes). Beginning a trend, it sold out. As the series concluded on 27 March 1996 with "Take care of yourself.", the story apparently remained unresolved: Third Impact and the Human Instrumentality Project are implied to have begun or even finished, but the episodes focus largely on the psychology of the characters, leaving deeply unclear what actually happens. The End of Evangelion was meant to replace or complement the original episodes 25 and 26, in order to better explain the events of the ending. Episode list Each episode has 2 titles: one is the original Japanese title, and the second is an English title that was chosen by Japanese studio Gainax itself. Most often, the direct translation of the Japanese title is not the same as the official English title that was chosen. For example, the direct translation of the original Japanese title of episode 2 is "An Unfamiliar Ceiling", but the English title chosen was "The Beast". Sometimes, however, the two titles are either similar or exactly the same, as was the case with episode 10 "Magmadiver". Many tracks on the original soundtracks are named after the English episode names in which they are first used. |aired = 11-Oct-1995 |desc = Shinji wakes up in the hospital, with no memory of the fight against the Angel the night before. His father wants nothing to do with him, so NERV's head of operations, the young and attractive Misato Katsuragi, becomes his legal guardian. Settling in to life in Misato's apartment, he eventually recalls the furious battle. }} |aired = 15-Nov-1995 |desc = Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, NERV's chief scientist, explains to Shinji more of the classified real nature of Second Impact, the Angels, and the mission of the Evangelions to defeat them. A rival organization of NERV builds a prototype giant robot, Jet Alone, meant as an alternative to the Evangelions, which this new robot line will supersede. Unlike the Evangelion units, which rely on external or limited battery power, the Jet Alone has an on-board nuclear reactor and can thus function indefinitely without external power. However, during the first public test of Jet Alone, it goes out of control and starts marching toward a nearby city with its reactor building to a meltdown. Shinji keeps the robot at bay in his Evangelion while Misato gets inside and shuts down the reactor. }} |aired = 22-Nov-1995 |desc = Misato brings Shinji and his friends Toji and Kensuke on a flight to a United Nations carrier battlegroup which is transporting Evangelion Unit-02 and its fiery German pilot, Asuka Langley Soryu, to Japan. Escorting Asuka to Japan is Misato's old flame, Ryōji Kaji. In the middle of some awkward introductions and reunions, a massive aquatic Angel, Gaghiel, begins attacking the fleet, and Asuka determines that she will fight it using Unit-02, by playing "hopscotch". Unfortunately for both due to their unfriendly meeting, she takes Shinji with her. The Angel drags Unit-02 underwater, and Misato devises a plan to kill it by lodging two sunken battleships in its mouth and then firing all weapons into it. The Angel is killed, and it is revealed that both Shinji and Asuka broke their synchronization records. Kaji is seen delivering Adam to Gendo, and Asuka transfers to Shinji's class. }} |writer = Hideaki Anno Akio Satsukawa |aired = 29-Nov-1995 |desc = Asuka moves into Shinji and Misato's apartment where he and Misato live. As Asuka adjusts to Japan, the Angel Israfel attacks. After apparently being defeated, Israfel splits in to two identical copies and defeats both Units 01 and 02. In desperation the UN takes the drastic step of dropping an N² bomb on the Angel, temporarily disabling it and giving NERV six days to find a way to defeat it. They determine that both parts of the Angel must be defeated perfectly simultaneously, so Misato puts Shinji and Asuka in a training regimen which has them spending as much time together as possible in order to synchronize their actions to pull off a coordinated dual attack set to a timed dance routine. Asuka and Shinji do not take well to such close conditions however, and the training is deemed a failure. Nevertheless, Shinji and Asuka are able pull off the routine almost flawlessly, destroying the Angel. }} |aired = 13-Dec-1995 |desc = The electrical power in Tokyo-3 is completely cut off as a result of sabotage by parties unknown, trapping most NERV personnel inside, and worse, trapping all three Evangelion pilots outside of the base. A new Angel, Matarael, appears and begins to burn its way down to NERV headquarters by using a corrosive acid attack, and everyone inside must struggle to power up the Evangelions, as the pilots try to make their way back into Central Dogma through a maze of closed corridors and air ducts. The pilots then enter their Evas and go into battle. After traversing more vents and passageways, they come face to face with the Angel. Asuka defends Shinji and Rei from Matarael's corrosive acid, while the other two pilots retrieve Shinji's rifle. Shinji then uses the rifle to destroy the Angel. }} |writer = Hideaki Anno |aired = 27-Dec-1995 |desc = The pilots are undergoing a synchronization test directed by Ritsuko deep within NERV headquarters when a new Angel, Ireul, appears within the base itself, being initially mistaken for corrosion. This Angel is actually a collection of millions of microscopic organisms, which interact to create a living biological computer circuit. Iruel infects NERV's computer network, and then infiltrates two of the three Magi supercomputers that control the base before Ritsuko is able to set up a firewall to slow its advance. Iruel is trying to trigger the NERV base's self-destruct, which requires a unanimous vote by all three supercomputers. Although Ritsuko's firewall slowed the advance of Iruel's infiltration, it is gradually taking over the last supercomputer. Ritsuko comes up with a scheme to use the Angel's rapid adaptive ability against it and force it to evolve in to a benign state, but must race to implement it before the Angel gains control. }} |aired = 24-Jan-1996 |desc = Disaster strikes unexpectedly when NERV-02, NERV's second branch base in Nevada, mysteriously disappears in a flash, resulting in the loss of everything in a radius of eighty-nine kilometers and thousands of people. The incident coincided with an experiment to install an S² Engine, capable of giving an Evangelion an unlimited power supply, into Evangelion Unit-04, one of the two new Evangelions which have recently finished construction in the United States. Panicking after the accident involving Unit-04, the United States government demands that Evangelion Unit-03, built in NERV-01, NERV's first branch base in Massachusetts, be removed from its soil as quickly as possible. As Unit-03 is about to arrive in Tokyo-3, Toji Suzuhara becomes the new pilot for it. }} |writer = Hideaki Anno |aired = 31-Jan-1996 |desc = Unit-03, being transported from the United States to Japan via airplane, flies through a microscopic Angel disguised as an odd cloud, infecting Unit-03. During Toji's first synch test, Unit-03 goes berserk and mutates into an Angel, Bardiel. Possessing both the power of an Angel and the form of an Evangelion, Unit-03 destroys the test facility and advances toward Tokyo-3. All three Evangelions are sortied against Bardiel, but the Angel rapidly defeats both Unit-02 and Unit-00. Although Shinji does not know that Toji is trapped inside Bardiel, he refuses to use Unit-01 to attack it, wanting to try to save the pilot. As Bardiel attacks Unit-01, Gendo orders that Shinji be cut off from control of Unit-01 and that Unit-01's dummy plug autopilot system be activated. Under the control of the dummy plug, Unit-01 savagely attacks Bardiel, literally tearing the possessed Evangelion to shreds and crushing its entry plug. After the battle, the already emotionally-devastated Shinji is even more horrified as he sees Toji being taken from the wreckage of the entry plug. }} ''The End of Evangelion'' The End of Evangelion is a 1997 Japanese animated film written and directed by Hideaki Anno along with Kazuya Tsurumaki. It is a movie based on Episodes 25' and 26' which were alternate versions of 25 and 26. See also * Manga chapters * Rebuild of Evangelion References Category:Lists Category:Episodes